FY 2009 Budget in Brief
The annual Function 150 (International Affairs Budget Request) Summary and Highlights provides an overview of the total funding requested in four appropriations bills for the programs and activities of the International Affairs budget. PDF Version Fact Sheet
The Budget in Brief describes funding requested in one appropriations bill (that covering the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies) for the worldwide operations of the State Department and selected other international programs and activities.
The Bureau of Legislative Affairs (H) coordinates legislative activity for the Department of State and advises the Secretary, the Deputy, as well as the Under Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries on legislative strategy. H facilitates effective communication between State Department officials and the Members of Congress and their staffs. H works closely with authorizing, appropriations, and oversight committees of the House and Senate, as well as with individual Members that have an interest in State Department or foreign policy issues. H manages Department testimony before House and Senate hearings, organizes Member and staff briefings, and facilitates Congressional travel to overseas posts for Members and staff throughout the year. H reviews proposed legislation and coordinates Statements of Administration Policy on legislation affecting the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. The H staff advises individual Bureaus of the Department on legislative and outreach strategies and coordinates those strategies with the Secretary's priorities.
The Secretary of State is the principal Congressional Relations Officer of the Department. H supports the Secretary by ensuring that the administration's foreign policy priorities are reflected throughout the legislative process. H coordinates the annual testimony provided by the Secretary to Congressional committees with jurisdiction over State programs to explain Department priorities and budget requirements. The bureau succeeds in its overall mission by seeking passage of relevant foreign policy legislation and appropriations, obtaining advice and consent to treaties, as well as confirmation of the President's Departmental and Ambassadorial nominees by the Senate.
The Assistant Secretary, advises the Secretary of State on legislative matters, directs the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, and acts as the Department's principal liaison with the Congress.
Contact Information:Address:
U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Legislative Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
Climate Change: A Common Threat, A Global Responsibility
Remarks by President Obama at the UN Climate Change Conference, Dec. 18, Copenhagen: "[A]s the world's largest economy and as the world's second largest emitter, America bears our responsibility to address climate change, and we intend to meet that responsibility. That's why we've renewed our leadership within international climate change negotiations. That's why we've worked with other nations to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. That's why we've taken bold action at home....” Full Text / Secretary Clinton's Remarks - Op-Ed / Climate Change Conference Site
Remarks on the Human Rights Agenda for the 21st Century
Remarks by Secretary Clinton at Georgetown University, Dec. 14, Washington, D.C.: “Our human rights agenda for the 21st century is to make human rights a human reality, and the first step is to see human rights in a broad context. Of course, people must be free from the oppression of tyranny, from torture, from discrimination, from the fear of leaders who will imprison or ‘disappear’ them. But they also must be free from the oppression of want – want of food, want of health, want of education, and want of equality in law and in fact.” Full Text / Fact Sheet / Video / Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
U.S.-North Korea Dialogue on the Way Forward
Special Representative for North Korea Policy Ambassador Stephen Bosworth in remarks on December 16, Washington, D.C.: "[T]his trip to Pyongyang was the first senior-level encounter between the Obama Administration and the DPRK. As I said in Seoul and elsewhere on the road, I found that the talks were quite positive.…. In particular, they accepted the importance of the Six-Party process and they accepted the critical role of the joint statement of principles of September 2005." Full Text / North Korea Info
